2 Answers
2

TikZ is supported in the current ConTeXt. However, there are not many people using TikZ in ConTeXt. That, in turn, means that bugs are not detected that easily. When you translate the LaTeX specific commands that are used in the manual (e.g. font switching commands) to ConTeXt-flavoured ones, you should get the desired result.

When the file compiles, but the output is unexpected, a look at the logfile almost always tells you what is wrong. You, in your particular example are missing the \usetikzlibrary[positioning] call.

Edit: I had an older version of the manual not containing the quote you mention. The newer version apparently does not officially support ConTeXt MkIV (I guess neither did the old one). However, I use TikZ in combination with a current MkIV and most of the time it works as expected.

Lastly, for those interested in automatic conversion, here is a list of all substitutions to make:

\\begin{tikzpicture} --> \\starttikzpicture
\\end{tikzpicture} --> \\stoptikzpicture
\\begin{scope} --> \\startscope
\\end{scope} --> \\stopscope
% Because we don't know for any of the defined colours whether tikz
% will use them in a text node or in a drawing bit, we replace the
% original with the ConTeXt definition *and* the pgfutil definition.
\\definecolor[named]{coscolor}{rgb}{r=0,g=0,b=.8}
-->
\\definecolor[coscolor][r=0,g=0,b=.8]
\\pgfutil@definecolor[named]{coscolor}{rgb}{0, 0, 0.8}
\\definecolor[named]{fillcolor}{.625black}
-->
\\definecolor[fillcolor][s=.625]
\\pgfutil@definecolor{coscolor}{gray}{.625}

Some additional information: The \pgfutil@… hack is a temporary one. A fix was recently discussed on the mailing list. With that fix you can use ConTeXt colours in TikZ without double-defining them. However, that issue needs to be fixed upstream, which takes some time. Also see the bug report.
–
MarcoMay 23 '12 at 8:29

@Marco: And I see the fix was not merely discussed, but also indeed submitted to TikZ. Thanks! to the both of you. Now we wait. Good things come to those who wait.
–
EsteisMay 23 '12 at 10:16

1

@Marco I patched this afternoon the corresponding file in the cvs repo thanks to the fix provided. So work now.
–
cjorssenMay 23 '12 at 20:46